Enterprise Level Management in a Multi-Femtocell Network

ABSTRACT

Aspects of a method and system for enterprise level management in a multi-femtocell network are provided. In this regard, one or more endpoint devices may receive traffic management information from a hybrid network controller for enabling handoff of calls and/or communication sessions among femtocells and/or access points. The received traffic management information may comprise set-up instructions, handoff instructions, transmit power, neighbor list information, signal quality thresholds, frequency assignments, transmission time, code assignments and/or antenna pattern assignments. The endpoint device may control handoffs between a communication device external to the communication system and the femtocells, access points and/or end-point devices.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS/INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

This patent application makes reference to, claims priority to andclaims benefit from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.61/228,303 filed on Jul. 24, 2009.

This patent application makes reference to:

-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/470,764 filed on May 22, 2009;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/470,772 filed on May 22, 2009;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/470,826 filed on May 22, 2009;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/470,997 filed on May 22, 2009;    and-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/470,983 filed on May 22, 2009.

Each of the above stated applications is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Certain embodiments of the invention relate to communications. Morespecifically, certain embodiments of the invention relate to a methodand system for enterprise level management in a multi-femtocell network.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A femtocell may be placed in a customer's residence or in a smallbusiness environment, for example. Femtocells may be utilized foroff-loading macro radio network traffic, improving coverage locally in acost-effective manner, and/or implementing home-zone services toincrease revenue. Femtocells, like macro cell base stations, may beenabled to connect “standard” phones to a cellular provider's network bya physical broadband connection which may be a digital subscriber line(DSL) connection and/or a cable connection, for example. Since thetraffic between a customer's premises femtocell equipment and theoperator's network may be traversing a public network, the traffic maybe prone to various risks.

Communication between femtocells and one or more cellular provider'snetworks enables operation in private and public areas. The capacity ofa femtocell may be adequate to address a typical family use modelsupporting two to four simultaneous voice calls and/or data traffic, forexample.

An important characteristic of femtocells is their ability to controlaccess. In an open access scenario, any terminal and/or subscriber maybe allowed to communicate with the femtocell. Accordingly, the femtocellusage may somewhat resemble that of a macrocell system. In a closedaccess scenario, the femtocell may serve a limited number of terminalsand/or subscribers that may be subscribed to a given cellular basestation. In this regard, the cellular base station may be perceived asbeing deployed for private usage.

A regulatory issue with regard to femtocells is that they use licensedfrequencies that radiate at a low power in a controlled environment. Itmay be likely that they may not require a license from a localauthority, as macrocell base stations do. An additional regulatory issuemay arise from the relationship between a femtocell operator and abroadband services operator. One possible scenario may include thebroadband operator being unaware of the existence of a femtocelloperator. Conversely, the broadband operator and femtocell operator mayhave an agreement or they may be the same operator, for example.Interference between femtocells may be an issue for femtocelldeployments based on wideband technologies such as WCDMA, for example,because initial operator deployments may use the same frequency for boththe femtocell and the macrocell networks or due to the proximity offemtocell base stations in dense urban areas.

There are a plurality of design models for deployment and integration offemtocells, for example, an IP based Iu-b interface, a sessioninitiation protocol (SIP) based approach using an Iu/A interface, use ofunlicensed spectrum in a technique known as unlicensed mobile access(UMA) and/or use of IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) voice call continuity(VCC), for example.

In an Iu-b model based femtocell deployment approach, femtocells may befully integrated into the wireless carrier's network and may be treatedlike any other remote node in a network. The Iu-b protocol may have aplurality of responsibilities, such as the management of commonchannels, common resources, and radio links along with configurationmanagement, including cell configuration management, measurementhandling and control, time division duplex (TDD) synchronization, and/orerror reporting, for example. In Iu-b configurations, mobile devices mayaccess the network and its services via the Node B link, and femtocellsmay be treated as traditional base stations.

In a SIP based femtocell deployment approach, a SIP client, embedded inthe femtocell may be enabled to utilize SIP to communicate with theSIP-enabled mobile switching center (MSC). The MSC may perform theoperational translation between the IP SIP network and the traditionalmobile network, for example.

In a UMA based femtocell deployment approach, a generic access network(GAN) may offer an alternative way to access GSM and GPRS core networkservices over broadband. To support this approach, a UMA NetworkController (UNC) and protocols that guarantee secure transport ofsignaling and user traffic over IP may be utilized. The UNC may beenabled to interface into a core network via existing 3GPP interfaces,for example, to support core network integration of femtocell basedservices by delivering a standards based, scalable IP interface formobile core networks.

In an IMS VCC based femtocell deployment approach, VCC may provide for anetwork design that may extend an IMS network to include cellularcoverage and address the handoff process. The IMS VCC may be designed toprovide seamless call continuity between cellular networks and anynetwork that supports VoIP, for example. The VCC may also provide forinteroperability between GSM, UMTS, and CDMA cellular networks and anyIP capable wireless access network, for example. The IMS VCC may alsosupport the use of a single phone number or SIP identity and may offer abroad collection of functional advantages, for example, support formultiple markets and market segments, provisioning of enhanced IMSmultimedia services, including greater service personalization andcontrol, seamless handoff between circuit-switched and IMS networks,and/or access to services from any IP device.

An access point is a device that may be placed in a customer's residenceor in a small business environment and provide WLAN, WiFi, LTE and/orWiMax service. For example, access points may be attached to anEnterprise network to allow users to access a corporate intranet. Anaccess point may be enabled to connect an endpoint device such as acomputer or handheld wireless device to an intranet or an internetservice provider (ISP) via a physical broadband connection which may bea digital subscriber line (DSL) connection and/or a cable connection forexample. Access points may communicate over-the-air based on one or morecommunication standards comprising 802.11 and/or 802.16.

Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditionalapproaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, throughcomparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention asset forth in the remainder of the present application with reference tothe drawings.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A system and/or method is provided for enterprise level management in amulti-femtocell network, substantially as shown in and/or described inconnection with at least one of the figures, as set forth morecompletely in the claims.

These and other advantages, aspects and novel features of the presentinvention, as well as details of an illustrated embodiment thereof, willbe more fully understood from the following description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating an exemplary hybrid network comprisinga hybrid network controller, femtocells, access points and/or userequipment, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 1B is a block diagram illustrating exemplary endpoint devices thatmay be operable to receive traffic management information from thehybrid network controller to handle handoff management among one or morefemtocells, access points and endpoint devices, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 1C is a block diagram of an exemplary hybrid network controller, inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 1D is a block diagram of an exemplary femtocell, in accordance withan embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 1E is a block diagram of an exemplary access point, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 1F is a block diagram of exemplary user equipment, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating exemplary steps for handoff controlby a endpoint device in a hybrid sub-network comprising femtocellsand/or access points, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Certain embodiments of the invention may be found in a method and systemfor enterprise level management in a multi-femtocell network. Acommunication system may comprise a hybrid network controller, one ormore femtocells, one or more access points and/or one or more end-pointdevices. The femtocells and/or access points may comprise 2G, 3G and/or4G technology. For example, the access points may comprise WLAN accesspoints, LTE access points and/or WiMax access points. One or moreendpoint devices may receive traffic management information from ahybrid network controller for enabling handoff of calls and/orcommunication sessions among femtocells, access points and/or end-pointdevices. The received traffic management information may comprise set-upinstructions, handoff instructions, transmit power, neighbor listinformation, signal quality thresholds, frequency assignments,transmission time, code assignments and/or antenna pattern assignments.The end-point device may control handoffs between a communication deviceexternal to the communication system and the femtocells, access pointsand/or end-point devices. Received signal strength, interference levels,SNR, signal path delay, power consumption, traffic loads, bandwidthusage and/or radio resource availability may be monitored and/oranalyzed by the endpoint devices. The endpoint devices may assign timeslots, codes, antenna patterns as well as a serving femtocell and/or APfor a set up and/or a handoff. The traffic management information may bereceived via one or more wireless connections.

FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating an exemplary hybrid network comprisinga hybrid network controller, femtocells, access points and endpointdevices, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring toFIG. 1A, there is shown a system of networks 100 comprising the wiredand/or wireless communication backbone 102 which comprises a cellularnetwork 104 a, a public switched telephone network 104 b, a IP network104 c, a broadband mobile network 104 d, the WIMAX and/or LTE basestation 122, the telephone 124 a, the laptop 124 b, the applicationserver 124 c, an radio network controller (RNC) 124 d, a cellularmacrocell 120 and a hybrid sub-network 118. The hybrid sub-network 118comprises a hybrid network controller 110, a plurality of femtocells 112a and 112 b that are collectively referred to herein as femtocells 112,a plurality of access points (AP) 114 a, 114 b and 114 c that arecollectively referred to herein as APs 114, and a plurality of endpointdevices or user equipment (UE) 116 a, . . . , 116 g that arecollectively referred to herein as UEs 116 and/or endpoint devices 116.In addition, the hybrid sub-network 118 comprises a wired and/orwireless connection 108 and an Ethernet, WiMax and/or LTE broadband link106.

The hybrid sub-network 118 may comprise a hybrid network controller 110,user equipment (UE) 116 a, . . . , 116 g, femtocells 112 a and 112 band/or access points (AP) 114 a and 114 b that may be installed in anenterprise system, commercial properties, residential properties and/ormulti-tenant properties for example. The enterprise system may bedeployed in office buildings, schools, hospitals or government buildingsfor example. The commercial properties may comprise, for example,stores, restaurants and/or offices. The residential properties maycomprise, for example, single-family homes, home offices, and/ortown-houses. Multi-tenant properties may comprise residential and/orcommercial tenants such as apartments, condos, hotels, and/or highrises. In various embodiments of the invention, the hybrid sub-network118 may be controlled by the hybrid network controller 110. In addition,all or a portion of the hybrid sub-network 118 may be managed by aservice provider which licenses cellular frequencies utilized by thehybrid network controller 110 and/or femtocells 112.

The hybrid network controller 110 comprises suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may be operable to control and/or managecommunication among the UEs 116, the femtocells 112 and/or the APs 114.In this regard, the hybrid network controller 110 may be operable tocontrol resources within the sub-network 118. For example, the hybridnetwork controller 110 may be operable to assign the femtocells 112and/or the APs 114 to handle calls and or sessions for the UEs 116.Moreover, the hybrid network controller 110 may be operable to managehandoffs between and/or among the femtocells 112 and APs 114. In thisregard, a UE 116 may establish a call and/or communication session withone or more femtocells 112 and/or APs 114 and may add or switch toanother femtocell 112 and/or AP 114 while maintaining the same calland/or communication session. The UE 116 may be operable to allocateradio resources and/or communicate handoff control parameters to thefemtocells 112, the APs 114 and/or the UEs 116 based on the receivedtraffic management information from the hybrid network controller 110.Exemplary handoff control parameters may comprise neighbor information,bandwidth, traffic usage and/or signal quality thresholds. Neighborinformation may indicate a frequency, time slot and/or PN code offset ofneighboring femtocells 112 and/or APs 114 that may be candidates for ahandoff. A handoff may be initiated based on bandwidth requirementsand/or traffic loading, for example. Furthermore, signal qualitythresholds may trigger a handoff in instances when a threshold isexceeded. Signal quality thresholds may comprise signal strength, biterror rate, E_(b)/N₀ and/or signal to noise ratio (SNR), for example.

The UEs 116, femtocells 112 and/or APs 114 may provide status and/orinformation regarding operating conditions to the hybrid networkcontroller 110. The hybrid network controller 110 may utilize theinformation to determine traffic management information for operation ofthe UEs 116, femtocells 112, and/or APs 114, for example, handoff. Forexample, the hybrid network controller 110 may be operable to determinewhen a UE 116 should handoff to another femtocell and/or AP and/or maydetermine which femtocell 112 and/or AP 114 may handle the handoff.Exemplary information may comprise round trip path delay, receivedsignal strength information, traffic distribution data, load balancedata, UE battery level, measured interference (SNR, SINR, CINR), biterror rates, bandwidth availability, frequency, code and/or time slotutilization, antenna configurations, software configuration and/ormaximum transmit power. In various embodiments of the invention, globalnavigation satellite system (GNSS) timing and/or location coordinatesfor one or more of the femtocells 112, the APs 114 and/or the UEs 116may be sent to the hybrid network controller 110. The timing informationmay enable the network controller to coordinate handoffs between and/oramong the femotcells 112, the APs 114 and/or the UEs 116 and/or toschedule transmission and/or reception of data for example.

The hybrid network controller 110 may be communicatively coupled to thefemtocells 112 and/or the APs 114 via a wired and/or wireless connection108. In this regard, the connection 108 may support Ethernet, WLANand/or cellular connectivity. In addition, the hybrid network controller110 may be communicatively coupled to the wired and/or wirelesscommunication backbone 102 via the Ethernet, WiMax and/or LTE broadbandlink 106. For example, the hybrid network controller 110 may communicatewith one or more of the networks 104 via the Ethernet, WiMax and/or LTEbroadband link 106, for example.

The femtocells 112 may each comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may be operable to communicate wirelesslywith the UEs 116 utilizing one or more cellular standards comprisingIS-95, CDMA, GSM, TDMA, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS/WCDMA, TD-SCDMA, HSDPA,extensions thereto, and/or variants thereof. Data comprises any analogand/or digital information including but not limited to voice, Internetdata, and/or multimedia content. Multimedia content may comprise audioand/or visual content comprising, video, still images, animated images,and/or textual content. The femtocells 112 may each communicate withvarious devices such as the UEs 116. Exemplary cellular standardssupported by the femtocells 112 may be specified in the InternationalMobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000) standard and/or developed bythe 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP), the 3rd generationpartnership project 2 (3GPP2) and/or fourth generation specifications.

The femtocells 112 may each comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may be operable to communicate utilizing IPprotocol over a wired or wireless connection 108 with the hybrid networkcontroller 110. In various embodiments of the invention, the femtocells112 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry and/or code that are operableto receive and/or process control information from the hybrid networkcontroller 110. In this regard, the control information may comprisevarious parameter settings, resource allocation and/or configurationinformation for enabling handoffs between two or more of the femtocells112 and/or the APs 114. In addition, the femtocells 112 may be operableto provide information to the hybrid network controller 110 that may beutilized to manage the handoffs.

The APs 114 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/orcode that may be operable to provide WLAN, WiFi, LTE and/or WiMaxconnectivity to one or more of the UEs 116 based on one or more 802.11and/or 802.16 standards, for example. In this regard, the APs 114 mayprovide Internet connectivity, multimedia downloads and/or IP telephonysessions to the UEs 116. The APs 114 may be managed by the hybridnetwork controller 110 via the wired and/or wireless connection 108. Aplurality of APs 114 may be operable to support simultaneous sessionsand/or handoffs of a single UE 116. In addition, one or more APs 114 maybe operable to support simultaneous sessions and/or handoffs for asingle UE 116 with one or more femtocells 112. In various embodiments ofthe invention, the APs 114 may be operable to support handoff orsimultaneous sessions of a single UE 116 with an AP in anothersub-network (not shown). In various embodiments of the invention, theAPs 114 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry and/or code that may beoperable to receive and/or process control information from the hybridnetwork controller 110. In this regard, the control information maycomprise various parameter settings, resource allocation and/orconfiguration information for enabling handoffs among and/or between twoor more the APs 114 and/or femtocells 112. In addition, the APs 114 maybe operable to provide information to the hybrid network controller 110that may be utilized to manage the handoffs.

The user equipment (UE) 116 may each comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may be operable to communicate utilizing oneor more wireless standards. For example, the UEs 116 may be operable tocommunicate with the APs 114 based on 802.11 standards and/or variantsthereof. In addition, the UEs 116 may be operable to communicate withthe femtocells 112 based on one or more wireless standards such asIS-95, CDMA, EVDO, GSM, TDMA, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS/WCDMA, TD-SCDMA, HSDPA,WIMAX and/or LTE. The UEs 116 may be operable to communicate based onBluetooth, Zigbee and/or other suitable wireless technologies. The UEs116 may each be operable to transmit and/or receive data to and/or fromthe femtocells 112 and/or APs 114 in the hybrid sub-network 118 as wellas with other cellular base stations and/or APs. Exemplary UEs 116 maycomprise laptop computers, mobile phones, media players, HD televisionsystems, video and/or still cameras, game consoles and/or locationdetermination enabled devices. The UEs 116 may be enabled to receive,process, and/or present multimedia content and may additionally beenabled to run a web browser or other applications for providingInternet services to a user of the UE 116.

The UEs 116 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry and/or code that maybe operable to receive and/or process control and/or traffic managementinformation from the hybrid network controller 110. In this regard, thecontrol and/or traffic management information may comprise variousparameter settings, resource allocation and/or configuration informationfor enabling setup and/or handoffs between the femtocells 112 and/or theAPs 114. In addition, the UEs 116 may be operable to provide informationto the hybrid network controller 110 that may be utilized to manage thehandoffs. In various embodiments of the invention, the UEs 116 may bemultimode devices that may be operable to communicate simultaneouslywith a plurality of femtocells 112 and/or APs 114. For example, the UE116 b may be enabled to communicate simultaneously with the femtocell112 a and the AP 114 a. Alternatively, the UE 116 devices may be enabledto communicate simultaneously with a plurality of femtocells 112 and/orsimultaneously with a plurality of APs 114. Moreover, the UE 116 devicesmay be operable to perform handoffs, for example, between multiplefemtocells 112, between femtocells 112 and APs 114 and/or betweenmultiple APs 114.

The wired and/or wireless communication backbone 102 may comprisesuitable logic, circuitry and/or code that may be operable to provideaccess to a plurality of networks, for example, the cellular network 104a, the public switched telephone network (PSTN) 104 b, the IP network104 c and/or the broadband mobile network 104 d. The cellular network104 a may comprise 2G and/or 3G networks, for example. The broadbandmobile network 104 d may comprise 4G networks, for example, WiMax and/orLTE networks. The wired and/or wireless communication backbone 102and/or the networks 104 may comprise various endpoint and/or userequipment devices. For example, the telephone 124 a may becommunicatively coupled to the PSTN 104 b. In addition, the laptop 124 band/or the application server 124 c may be communicatively coupled tothe IP network 104 c. In this regard, the telephone 124 a, the laptop124 b and/or the application server 124 c may be accessible to deviceswithin the sub-network 118 via the wired and/or wireless communicationbackbone 102. For example, a UE 116 c may receive a phone call from aremote landline telephone 124 a that is located within the PSTN network104 b.

In addition, the wired and/or wireless backbone 102 may becommunicatively coupled to other sub-networks and/or private intranets(not shown) for example. In this manner, the wired and/or wirelesscommunication backbone 102 may enable the UEs 116 to communicate withremote resources such as other user equipment, an application server onthe Internet and other network devices that may be communicativelycoupled via the networks 104 for example. The wired and/or wirelessbackbone 102 may be communicatively coupled to the hybrid networkcontroller 110 via the Ethernet, WiMax and/or LTE broadband link 106.Although the Ethernet, WiMax and/or LTE broadband link 106 is shown inFIG. 1, the invention is not so limited. For example, the broadband link106 may comprise other types of links such as ATM or frame relay, forexample.

In operation, the hybrid network controller 110, femtocells 112, APs 114and/or UEs 116 may be operable to support various types of handoffscomprising for example, soft handoff, hard handoffs, handoffs amongand/or between different technologies and/or handoffs to and/or fromentities outside of the sub-network 118. The hybrid network controller110 and/or UE 116 may determine which of the femtocells 112 and/or theAPs 114 may handle a handoff for a UE 116 based on signal quality,bandwidth constraints and/or resource availability, for example. Inaddition, the hybrid network controller 110 and/or UE 116 may assignfemtocells and/or APs to a call and/or communication session.

During a soft handoff, a plurality of femtocells 112 and/or APs 114 mayhandle the same call and/or data session simultaneously with a UE 116.For example, during soft handoff, two or more femtocells 112 and/or APs114 may transmit and/or receive bit streams comprising the same contentto and/or from a UE 116. On the receive side of the two or more of thefemtocells 112 and/or the APs 114, the received bit streams comprisingthe same content may be delivered to the hybrid network controller 110.The UE 116 may dynamically select the best quality bits from the two bitstreams and may deliver the best quality bits to a target entity. In theUE 116, received signals comprising the bit streams that comprise thesame content may be combined prior to demodulation, for example,combined over the air or in a rake receiver. The received signals mayalso be demodulated and the UE 116 may select the best quality bits fromthe multiple streams.

The hybrid network controller 110 may manage hard handoffs for the UE116. In this regard, an UE 116 may establish a call and/or session withanother device via a first femtocell 112 and/or AP 114 and then maymaintain the call and/or session while switching to a differentfemtocell 112 and/or AP 114. In various embodiments of the invention,the hybrid network controller 110 may be operable to manage handoffsbetween one or more femtocells 112 and one or more APs 114 wherein a UE116 is operable to handoff from one technology to another during a calland/or communication session. For example, the UE 116 may be engaged ina data session via the femtocell 112 that may utilize 3GPP wirelesstechnology. The hybrid network controller 110 may send a message to theUE 116 via the femtocell 112 indicating that it may handoff to the AP114. The AP 114 may support 802.11 wireless technology. In this regard,the UE 116 may switch from utilizing a 3GPP interface to an 802.11interface during the call in order to handoff from a femtocell to an AP.

The hybrid network controller 110 may limit handoffs from femtocells 112and/or APs within the sub-network 118 and other femtocells, APs and/orbase stations that may be located within range of the UEs 116. Forexample, the cellular macrocell base station 120 may provide a signalthat is adequate to handle calls and/or communication sessions with theUEs 116 within the sub-network 118, however, the hybrid networkcontroller 110 may not allow the UEs 116 to handoff to the cellularmacrocell base station if the femtocells 112 and/or APs are operable tohandle a call. In instances when the femtocells 112 and/or APs 114 arenot able to handle a call, for example, when a UE 116 is engaged in acall and may be leaving the service area of the sub-network 118, thehybrid network controller may enable a handoff to an external entity. Inthis regard, the hybrid network controller 110 may manage handoffsbetween one or more femtocells 112 and/or APs 114 and an entity outsideof the sub-network 118. For example, in an instance where the UE 116 ais engaged in a call and is moved away from the location of thesub-network 118, the hybrid network controller 110 may communicate withthe RNC 124 d via the Ethernet, WiMax and/or LTE broadband link 106, thewired and/or wireless communication backbone 102 and/or the cellularnetwork 104 a to enable a handoff for the UE 116 a. The handoff mayoccur between the femtocell 112 a and the cellular macrocell basestation 120. The hybrid network controller 110 may also receive controlinformation from a service provider network to support handoffmanagement.

In various embodiments of the invention, a UE 116 may have established acall and/or communication session with another UE device and/or with anetwork resource within the wired and/or wireless communication backbone102. For example, the UE 116 c may be engaged in an IP telephone callwith the laptop 124 b via the femtocell 112 a, for example. The UE 116 cmay have travelled away from the serving area of the femtocell 112 a.The hybrid network controller 110 may utilize status and/or operatingcondition information received from one or more femtocells 112, APs 114and/or the UEs 116 to determine which femtocell 112 and/or AP 114 mayqualify to receive a handoff of the UE 116 a from the femtocell 112 a toserve the existing call and/or session. The determination may be basedon one or more of signal quality measurements and/or availability ofradio resources, for example. The UE 116 may receive traffic managementinformation from the hybrid network controller 110. The UE 116 may beoperable to select one or more of the femtocells 112 and/or APs 114 tohandle the handoff and may allocate resources and/or communicate controlparameters for the selected femtocells 112 and/or APs 114. In thismanner, the UE 116 may manage the call and/or communication sessionbetween the one or more femtocells 112 and/or the APs 114 and the UE116. The UE 116 may also exchange information with a service provider,for example, via the RNC 124 d, and may manage the handoff based oncontrol information received from the service provider.

FIG. 1B is a block diagram illustrating exemplary endpoint devices thatmay be operable to receive traffic management information from thehybrid network controller to handle handoff management among one or morefemtocells, access points and endpoint devices, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 1B, there is shown thewired and/or wireless communication backbone 102, the Ethernet, WiMaxand/or LTE broadband link 106, the wired and/or wireless connections108, the hybrid network controller 110, the femtocells 112 a and 112 b,the access points (APs) 114 a and 114 b, the user equipment (UE) 116 a,. . . , 116 e, and the hybrid sub-network 118.

The wired and/or wireless communication backbone 102, the Ethernet,WiMax and/or LTE broadband link 106, the wired and/or wirelessconnection 108, the hybrid network controller 110, the femtocells 112 aand 112 b, the access points (APs) 114 a and 114 b, the user equipment(UE) 116 a, . . . , 116 e and the hybrid sub-network 118 are describedwith respect to FIG. 1A.

The Ethernet, WiMax and/or LTE broadband link 106 comprises suitablelogic circuitry and/or code that is operable to carry traffic for thefemtocells 112 and the APs 114 to and/or from the wired and/or wirelesscommunication backbone 102. For example, the Ethernet, WiMax and/or LTEbroadband link 106 may transport IP packets to one or more of thenetworks 104 described with respect to FIG. 1A. In addition, theEthernet, WiMax and/or LTE broadband link 106 may provide access to theInternet and/or one or more private networks. The Ethernet, WiMax and/orLTE broadband link 106 comprise one or more of optical, wired, and/orwireless links. In various embodiments of the invention, the Ethernet,WiMax and/or LTE broadband link 106 may comprise a WIMAX and/or LTE basestation 122 and the hybrid network controller 110 may communicate withthe networks 104 via the WIMAX and/or LTE base station 122 and thebroadband mobile network 104 d. In various embodiments of the invention,the Ethernet, WiMax and/or LTE broadband link 106 may comprise abroadband connection such as a digital subscriber line (DSL), Ethernet,passive optical network (PON), a T1/E1 line, a cable televisioninfrastructure, a satellite television infrastructure, and/or asatellite broadband Internet connection.

In operation, a UE 116 may have established a call and/or communicationsession with another UE device and/or with a network resource within thewired and/or wireless communication backbone 102. For example, the UE116 c may be engaged in an IP telephony call with the laptop 124 b viathe femtocell 112 a, for example. The UE 116 c may be moved away fromthe serving area of the femtocell 112 a. The hybrid network controller110 may utilize status and/or operating condition information receivedfrom one or more of the femtocells 112, the APs 114 and/or the UEs 116to determine which femtocell and/or AP may qualify to receive a handoffof the UE 116 a to serve the existing call and/or session. Thedetermination may be based on one or more of signal quality measurementsand/or availability of radio resources, for example. The UE 116 mayreceive traffic management information from the hybrid networkcontroller 110. The UE 116 may be operable to select one or more of thefemtocells 112 and/or the APs 114 to handle the handoff and may allocateresources and/or communicate control parameters to the selectedfemtocell and/or AP. For example, the UE 116 c may select the AP I 14 aand may communicate control information to the femtocell 112 a and/orthe AP 114 a to perform the handoff. In this manner, the UE 116 maymanage the call and/or communication session between the one or morefemtocells 112 and/or the one or more APs 114 and the UE 116. The UE 116may also exchange information with a service provider, for example, viathe RNC 124 d, and may manage the handoff based on control informationreceived from the service provider as well.

The hybrid network controller 110 may be operable to manage interferenceand/or balance UE 116 traffic for the sub-network 118. The hybridnetwork controller 110 may be operable to respond to dynamic conditionsin a radio environment and/or respond to UE 116 traffic patterns.Accordingly, improvements in capacity and/or performance may be realizedfor the sub-network 118. The hybrid network controller 110 may beoperable to exchange control information with the various femtocells112, the APs 114 and/or the UEs 116 via the wired and/or wirelessconnections 108.

FIG. 1C is a block diagram of an exemplary hybrid network controller, inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 1C,there is shown, the hybrid network controller 110 that may comprise awired broadband Tx/Rx 184, a wireless broadband Tx/Rx 186, an EthernetTx/Rx 188, a WIMAX and/or LTE Tx/Rx 198, a GNSS receiver 168, a GNSSantenna 136, a processor 192, a memory 194 and a DSP 196.

The Ethernet Tx/Rx 188 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may be operable to transmit and/or receivedata to and/or from the wired and/or wireless communication backbone viathe Ethernet, WiMax and/or LTE broadband link 106. For example, theEthernet Tx/Rx 188 may transmit and/or receive data via a T1/E1 line,PON, DSL, cable television infrastructure, satellite broadband internetconnection and/or satellite television infrastructure for example. Invarious embodiments of the invention, the Ethernet Tx/Rx 188 may beoperable to perform exemplary operations and/or functions comprisingamplification, down-conversion, filtering, demodulation, and analog todigital conversion of received signals. In addition, the Ethernet Tx/Rx188 may be operable to perform exemplary operations and/or functionscomprising amplification, up-conversion, filtering, modulation, anddigital to analog conversion of transmitted signals.

The WiMax and/or LTE Tx/Rx 198 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may be operable to transmit and/or receivedata via the antenna 130 to and/or from the WiMax and/or LTE basestation 122 and/or the broadband mobile network 104 d in the wiredand/or wireless communication backbone 102. In this regard, the WiMaxand/or LTE base station 122 may be utilized for the Ethernet, WiMaxand/or LTE broadband link 106. The WiMax and/or LTE Tx/Rx 198 may beoperable to perform exemplary operations and/or functions comprisingamplification, down-conversion, filtering, demodulation, and analog todigital conversion of received signals. In addition, the WiMax and/orLTE Tx/Rx 198 may be operable to perform amplification, up-conversion,filtering, modulation, and digital to analog conversion of transmittedsignals. The WiMax and/or LTE Tx/Rx 198 may be operable to communicatewith the WiMax and/or LTE AP 114 c.

The wired broadband Tx/Rx 184 and/or the wireless broadband Tx/Rx 186may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that maybe operable to transmit and/or receive data in adherence with one ormore broadband communication standards to the femtocells 112 and/or APs114 via the wired and/or wireless connections 108. For example, thehybrid network controller 110 may communicate with the femtocells 112and/or APs 114 via the wired broadband Tx/Rx 184 and an Ethernet cablein adherence to 802.3 communication standards. Alternatively, the Tx/Rx186 may communicate via the antenna 130 for example in adherence to802.11 communication standards. The wired broadband Tx/Rx 184 and/orwireless broadband Tx/Rx 186 may be operable to perform amplification,down-conversion, filtering, demodulation, and analog to digitalconversion of received signals. In addition, the broadband Tx/Rx 184and/or 186 may be operable to perform amplification, up-conversion,filtering, modulation, and digital to analog conversion of transmittedsignals.

The antenna 130 may be suitable for transmitting and/or receivingsignals to and/or from the wired and/or wireless communication backbone102 and/or to and/or from the femtocells 112 and/or APs 114. Although asingle antenna 130 is illustrated, the invention is not so limited. Inthis regard, the Tx/Rx 184, Tx/Rx 186, Tx/Rx 188 and/or Tx/Rx 198 mayutilize a common antenna for transmission and reception, may utilizedifferent antennas for transmission and reception, and/or may utilize aplurality of antennas for transmission and/or reception. The GNSSreceiver 168 and GNSS antenna 136 may be similar and/or the same as theGNSS receive 168 and GNSS antenna 136 described with respect to FIG. 1D.

The processor 192 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfacesand/or code that may enable processing data and/or controllingoperations of the hybrid network controller 110. In this regard, theprocessor 192 may be enabled to provide control signals to the variousother blocks within the hybrid network controller 110. The processor 192may also control data transfers between various portions of the hybridnetwork controller 110. Additionally, the processor 192 may enableexecution of applications programs and/or code. In various embodimentsof the invention, the applications, programs, and/or code may enable,for example, parsing, transcoding and/or otherwise processing data.

In various embodiments of the invention, the applications, programs,and/or code may enable, for example, configuring and/or controllingoperation of the wired and/or wireless broadband Tx/Rx 184 and/or 186,the Ethernet Tx/Rx 188, the WIMAX and/or LTE Tx/Rx 198, the GNSSreceiver 168, the DSP 196, and/or the memory 194. For example,transmission power levels may be configured and/or handoffs may bescheduled.

The processor 192 may be operable to manage communication of data and/orQoS for data communicated via the Ethernet, WiMax and/or LTE broadbandlink 106, the Ethernet Tx/Rx 188 and/or the WIMAX and/or LTE Tx/Rx 198.In various embodiments of the invention, the processor 192 may sendcontrol information to the femtocells 112, the APs 114 and/or the UEs116. In this regard, the processor 192 may be enabled to controlcommunication between the femtocells 112 the APs 114 and the UEs 116.For example, the processor 192 may determine and communicate controlparameters such as antenna weighting patterns, filter coefficients,power level, modulation scheme, error coding scheme, and/or data rates.

The processor 192 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry and/or codethat are operable to communicate traffic management information to theUEs 116 to manage handoffs between and/or among one or more of thefemtocells 112 and/or APs 114. In this regard, the processor 192 may beoperable to receive status and/or operating condition information fromthe femtocells 112, APs 114 and/or the UEs 116 and may determine handoffcandidates based on the received information. The hybrid networkcontroller 110 may be operable to communicate configuration parametersand/or instruction to the femtocells 112, APs 114 and/or UEs 116 toenable the handoffs. In various embodiments of the invention, theprocessor 192 may be operable to exchange control information with aservice provider in order to coordinate handoffs within the sub-network118 and/or between the femtocells 112 and/or the APs within thesub-network 118 and entities external to the sub-network 118, forexample, the cellular macrocell base station 120 described with respectto FIG. 1A.

The memory 194 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/orcode that may enable storage or programming of information thatincludes, for example, parameters and/or code that may effectuate theoperation of the hybrid network controller 110. Exemplary parameters maycomprise configuration data and exemplary code may comprise operationalcode such as software and/or firmware, but the information need not belimited in this regard. Moreover, the parameters may comprise adaptivefilter and/or block coefficients. Additionally, the memory 194 maybuffer or otherwise store received data and/or data to be transmitted.In various embodiments of the invention, the memory 192 may compriseneighbor list information and/or information comprising status and/oroperating conditions for the femtocells 112, APs 114 and/or the UEs 116.For example, the memory 192 may comprise one or more look-up tables(LUTs) which may be utilized for determining handoff candidates from oneor more of the femtocells 112 and/or the APs 114.

The DSP 196 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/orcode that may be operable to perform computationally intensiveprocessing of data. The DSP 196 may be operable to handle exemplaryoperations comprising encoding, decoding, modulating, demodulating,encryption, decryption, scrambling, descrambling, and/or otherwiseprocessing of data. The DSP 196 may be enabled to adjust a modulationscheme, error coding scheme, and/or data rates of transmitted signals.One or more of the DSP 196, the processor 192 and/or the memory 194within the hybrid network controller 110 may be operable to implement afemtocell stack that supports communication with the femtocells 112 andother femtocell communication functions

In operation, the hybrid network controller 110 may communicate with oneor more of the femtocells 112, APs 114 and/or UEs 116 via the wiredTx/Rx 184 and/or the wireless broadband Tx/Rx 186 and wired and/or viathe wireless links 108. In this regard, the hybrid network controller110 may receive information from the femtocells 112, the APs 114 and/orthe UEs 116 regarding various operating conditions. Exemplary operatingconditions may comprise device capabilities, round trip path delay,received signal strength, measured interference, configurationparameters, antenna beam forming patterns, bit error rates, availablebandwidth, timing and/or location information. In various embodiments ofthe invention, global navigation satellite system (GNSS) timing and/orlocation coordinates may be provided. In addition, device capabilitiessuch as antenna types, available communication standards, hardwareconfiguration, software configuration, maximum transmit power, and/orbattery strength for example. Information received from the femtocells112, the APs 114 and/or the UEs 116 may be utilized by the processor 192to determine which one or more of the APs and/or femtocells may behandoff candidates. The hybrid network controller 110 may be operable tocommunicate control and/or configuration parameters that may enable ahandoff to the selected one or more handoff candidates and/or the UE116. For example, transmit power, frequency, time slot, PN code offsetand/or location information may be communicated. The hybrid networkcontroller 110 may send and/or receive information to and/or from aservice provider so that the service provider may also manage variousaspects of the handoff.

In an exemplary usage scenario, the hybrid network controller 110 mayset up a new call and/or communication session. The femtocell 112 mayprovide information to the hybrid network controller 110 that mayindicate that a call and/or communication set-up may be needed for a UE116. Moreover, the hybrid network controller 110 may communicate trafficmanagement information, for example, one or more timing and/or RFmeasurements, load balancing information, traffic usage information,current configuration and/or received signal strength to the UE 116. TheUE 116 may instruct the femtocell 112 and/or the AP 114 to set up a calland/or communication session based on the received traffic managementinformation. The UE 116 may manage the call and/or communicationsession. The femtocell 112 and/or the AP 114 may request a handoffand/or may provide traffic management information to the hybrid networkcontroller 110 that may indicate that a handoff may be needed. Forexample, the hybrid network controller 110 may receive one or moremeasurements comprising bit error rate and/or received signal strengthfrom the serving femtocell 112 and/or AP 114. The received measurementsmay exceed a threshold that may be stored in the memory 194 and maytrigger a handoff. The hybrid network controller 110 may analyzeresource availability, current status and/or operating conditioninformation from a plurality of femtocells 112 and/or APs 114 and maydetermine which one or more of the femtocells 112 and/or the APs 114 maybe appropriate to receive the handoff. The hybrid network controller 110may assign resources and/or communicate configuration parameters for thehandoff to the selected one or more of the femtocells 112 and/or the APs114 and may instruct the UE 116, femtocells 112 and/or the APs toexecute the handoff.

FIG. 1D is a block diagram of an exemplary femtocell, in accordance withan embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 1D, there is shown afemtocell 112 comprising an antenna 152, a cellular transmitter and/orreceiver (Tx/Rx) 154, a wired and/or a wireless broadband transmitterand/or receiver (Tx/Rx) 156, a processor 158, a memory 160, a digitalsignal processor (DSP) 162, a global navigation satellite system (GNSS)receiver 168 and a GNSS antenna 136. The femtocell 112 may be similar toor the same as the femtocells 112 described with respect to FIG. 1Aand/or FIG. 1B.

The GNSS receiver 168 and GNSS antenna 136 comprise suitable logic,circuitry and/or code to receive signals from one or more GNSSsatellites, for example, GPS satellites. The received signals maycomprise timing, ephemeris, long term orbit information, and/or almanacinformation that enable the GNSS receiver 168 to determine its locationand/or time.

The antenna 152 may be suitable for transmitting and/or receivingcellular signals and/or broadband signals. Although a single antenna isillustrated, the invention is not so limited. In this regard, thecellular Tx/Rx 154 and/or wired and/or wireless broadband Tx/Rx 156 mayutilize a common antenna for transmission and reception, may utilizedifferent antennas for transmission and reception, and/or may utilize aplurality of antennas for transmission and/or reception. In variousembodiments of the invention, the antenna 152 may comprise suitablelogic circuitry and/or code to perform beamforming. For example, theantenna 152 may be a smart antenna and/or may comprise a multiple input,multiple output (MIMO) antenna system.

The cellular Tx/Rx 154 may comprise suitable logic circuitry and/or codethat may be operable to transmit and/or receive voice and/or datautilizing one or more cellular standards. The cellular Tx/Rx 154 may beoperable to perform amplification, down-conversion, filtering,demodulation, and analog to digital conversion of received cellularsignals. The cellular Tx/Rx 154 may be operable to perform exemplaryoperations and/or functions comprising amplification, up-conversion,filtering, modulation and/or digital to analog conversion of transmittedcellular signals. The cellular Tx/Rx 154 may be operable to supportcommunication over a plurality of communication channels utilizing timedivision multiple access (TDMA) and/or code division multiple access(CDMA) for example. In addition, exemplary cellular standards supportedby the femtocells 112 may be specified in the International MobileTelecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000) standard and/or developed by the3^(rd) generation partnership project (3GPP) and/or the 3^(rd)generation partnership project 2 (3GPP2). In addition, 4^(th) generationstandards, for example, LTE may be supported by the cellular Tx/Rx 154.In various embodiments of the invention, the cellular Tx/Rx 154 may beenabled to measure received signal strength and may adjust a power leveland/or a modulation scheme or level of transmitted signals.

The wired and/or wireless broadband Tx/Rx 156 may comprise suitablelogic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable totransmit voice and/or data in adherence to one or more broadbandcommunication standards. The broadband Tx/Rx 156 may be operable toperform exemplary functions or operations comprising amplification,down-conversion, filtering, demodulation and/or analog to digitalconversion of received signals. The broadband Tx/Rx 156 may be operableto perform amplification, up-conversion, filtering, modulation, anddigital to analog conversion of transmitted signals. In variousexemplary embodiments of the invention, the broadband Tx/Rx 156 maytransmit and/or receive voice and/or data to and/or from the hybridnetwork controller 110 over the wired connection 108 a and/or over thewireless connection 108 c via the antenna 152.

The processor 158 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfacesand/or code that may enable processing data and/or controllingoperations of the femtocell 112. In this regard, the processor 158 maybe enabled to provide control signals to the various other blocks withinthe femtocell 112, for example the DSP 162, memory 160 and/or Tx/Rx 154.The processor 158 may also control data transfers between variousportions of the femtocell 112. Additionally, the processor 158 mayenable execution of applications programs and/or code. In variousembodiments of the invention, the applications, programs, and/or codemay enable, for example, parsing, transcoding and/or otherwiseprocessing data.

In various embodiments of the invention, the applications, programs,and/or code may enable, for example, configuring or controllingoperation of the antenna 152, cellular transmitter and/or receiver 154,the broadband transmitter and/or receiver 156, the GNSS receiver 168,the DSP 162, and/or the memory 160. The processor 158 may receivecontrol information from the hybrid network controller 110. In thisregard, the processor 158 may be enabled to provide one or more signalsto the cellular Tx/Rx 154, the memory 160, and/or the DSP 162 to controlcommunication between the femtocell 112 and the UE 116. In addition, theprocessor 158 may control exemplary parameters comprising neighbor listinformation, signal quality thresholds, frequency, transmission time, PNcode, antenna radiation pattern power level, modulation scheme, errorcoding scheme, and/or data rates of transmitted cellular signals.

The memory 160 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/orcode that may enable storage or programming of information that compriseparameters and/or code that may effectuate the operation of thefemtocell 112. Furthermore, the parameters may enable handoffs of callsand/or data sessions between and/or among other femtocells 112 and/orthe APs 114. A portion of the programming information and/or parametersmay be received from the hybrid network controller 110. The parametersmay comprise configuration data and the code may comprise operationalcode such as software and/or firmware, but the information need not belimited in this regard. Moreover, the parameters may comprise neighborlist information, signal quality thresholds, adaptive filter and/orblock coefficients, frequencies, transmission time, PN codes and/orantenna radiation patterns for example. The memory 160 may be operableto buffer or otherwise store received data and/or data to betransmitted. In various embodiments of the invention, the memory 160 maycomprise one or more look-up tables which may be utilized fordetermining cellular devices that may be within a coverage area of thefemtocell 112.

The DSP 162 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/orcode operable to perform computationally intensive processing of data.The DSP 162 may be operable to encode, decode, modulate, demodulate,encrypt, decrypt, scramble, descramble, and/or otherwise process data.For example, in instances when the femtocell 112 may communicate with afemtocell, the DSP 162, the processor 158 and/or the memory 160 mayperform physical layer functions such as encoding and/or decoding, aswell as OSI layer two and/or layer three functionality. Alternatively,the femtocell 112 may communicate with an access point based on IPprotocol. The DSP 162 may also be enabled to adjust a modulation scheme,error coding scheme, and/or data rates of transmitted cellular signalsdata. Moreover, one or more of the processor 158, the memory 160 and theDSP 162 may be operable to implement a femtocell stack that supportscommunication with the femtocells 112 and/or other femtocellcommunication functions.

In operation, the femtocell 112 may determine signal characteristicssuch as direction of arrival, interference levels and signal strength ofsignals received via a cellular communication channel. Similarly, theDSP 162 and/or the processor 156 may determine bit error rates of datareceived via a cellular communication channel and available bandwidth ofthe channel. The measurements may be communicated to the hybrid networkcontroller 110 by the Broadband Tx/Rx 156 via the wired connection 108 aand/or the wireless connection 108 c or to the UE 116 via the wirelessconnection 108 c. Additionally, the femtocell 112 may receive feedbackfrom a UE 116 on the other end of a cellular communication channel thatmay also be communicated to the hybrid network controller 110 via thebroadband Tx/Rx 156.

Handoff management messages may be received via the broadband Tx/Rx 156from the hybrid network controller 110. The processor 158 may utilizethe received management messages to configure, for example, the cellularTx/Rx 154, the antenna 152 and/or the DSP 162 for handing off a calland/or communication session with a UE 116. In this regard, handoffparameters comprising neighbor list information, signal qualitythresholds, frequency, time slot, PN codes and/or radiation pattern fora communication channel between the femtocell 112 and the UE 116 may beconfigured. Additionally, handoff management messages from the hybridnetwork controller 110 may be conveyed via the femtocell 112 to the UEs116.

FIG. 1E is a block diagram of an exemplary access point, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 1E, there isshown an AP 114 comprising an antenna 146, a WiFi transmitter and/orreceiver (Tx/Rx) 126, a wired and/or a wireless broadband transmitterand/or receiver (Tx/Rx) 128, a processor 138, a memory 140, a digitalsignal processor (DSP) 142, a global navigation satellite system (GNSS)receiver 168 and a GNSS antenna 136. The AP 114 may be similar to or thesame as the APs 114 described with respect to FIG. 1A and/or FIG. 1B.

The GNSS receiver 168 and GNSS antenna 136 may be similar and/or thesame as the GNSS receive 168 and GNSS antenna 136 described with respectto FIG. 1D.

The antenna 146 may be suitable for transmitting and/or receivingsignals to and/or from the UE 116 and/or to and/or from the hybridnetwork controller 110. Although a single antenna is illustrated, theinvention is not so limited. In this regard, the WiFi Tx/Rx 126 and/orwired and/or wireless broadband Tx/Rx 128 may utilize a common antennafor transmission and reception, may utilize different antennas fortransmission and reception, and/or may utilize a plurality of antennasfor transmission and/or reception. The antenna 146 may comprise suitablelogic circuitry and/or code to perform beamforming. For example, theantenna 146 may be a smart antenna and/or may comprise a MIMO system.

The wired and/or wireless broadband Tx/Rx 128 may comprise suitablelogic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable totransmit data in adherence to one or more broadband standards to thehybrid network controller 110 for one or more UE 116. In this regard,the wired and/or wireless broadband Tx/Rx 128 may communicate data toand/or from a plurality of UE 116 to and/or from the hybrid networkcontroller 110. The wired and/or wireless broadband Tx/Rx 128 may beoperable to perform exemplary operations and/or functions comprisingamplification, down-conversion, filtering, demodulation, and analog todigital conversion of received signals. The wired and/or wirelessbroadband Tx/Rx 128 may be operable to perform amplification,up-conversion, filtering, modulation, and digital to analog conversionof transmitted signals. In various exemplary embodiments of theinvention, the wired and/or wireless broadband Tx/Rx 128 may transmitand/or receive data over the wired connection 108 b and/or over thewireless connection 108 d via the antenna 146. In various embodiments ofthe invention, an AP 114 may utilize the same Tx/Rx 128 forcommunicating with the UE 112 and with the hybrid network controller110.

The processor 138 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfacesand/or code that may enable processing data and/or controllingoperations of the AP 114. In this regard, the processor 138 may beenabled to provide control signals to the various other blockscomprising the AP 114. The processor 138 may also control data transfersbetween various portions of the AP 114. Additionally, the processor 138may enable execution of applications programs and/or code. Theapplications, programs, and/or code may enable, for example, parsing,transcoding, or otherwise processing data. In addition, theapplications, programs, and/or code may enable, for example, configuringor controlling operation of the WiFi Tx/Rx 126, the antenna 146, thebroadband Tx/Rx 128, the GNSS receiver 168, the DSP 142, and/or thememory 140. The processor 138 may receive control information from thehybrid network controller 110. In this regard, the processor 138 may beenabled to provide one or more control signals to the WiFi Tx/Rx 126,the antenna 146, the wired and/or wireless broadband Tx/Rx 128, thememory 140, and/or the DSP 142 to control communication between the AP114 and the UE 116. In addition, the processor 138 may control handoffparameters such as neighbor list information, signal quality thresholds,frequency, transmission time, PN code, antenna radiation pattern,transmission power level, modulation scheme, error coding scheme, and/ordata rates of transmitted WiFi signals.

The memory 140 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/orcode that may enable storage or programming of information that includesparameters and/or code that may effectuate the operation of the AP 114.Furthermore, the parameters may enable handoffs of calls and/or datasessions between and/or among other APs 114 and/or the femtocells 112. Aportion of the programming information and/or parameters may be receivedfrom the hybrid network controller 110. Parameters may compriseconfiguration data and the code may comprise operational code such assoftware and/or firmware, but the information need not be limited inthis regard. Moreover, the handoff parameters may include neighbor listinformation, signal quality thresholds, adaptive filter and/or blockcoefficients. Additionally, the memory 140 may buffer or otherwise storereceived data and/or data to be transmitted. In various embodiments ofthe invention, the memory 140 may comprise one or more look-up tableswhich may be utilized for determining WiFi access within a coverage areaof the AP 114.

The DSP 142 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/orcode operable to perform computationally intensive processing of data.In various embodiments of the invention, the DSP 142 may encode, decode,modulate, demodulate, encrypt, decrypt, scramble, descramble, and/orotherwise process data. The DSP 142 may be enabled to adjust amodulation scheme, error coding scheme, and/or data rates of transmittedWiFi signal data.

In operation, the AP 114 may be engaged in a call with a UE 116. TheWiFi Tx/Rx 126 may determine signal characteristics such as interferencelevels and signal strength of desired signals received via a WiFicommunication channel. Similarly, the DSP 142 and/or the processor 138may determine bit error rates of data received via a WiFi communicationchannel and available bandwidth of the channel. The measurements may becommunicated to the hybrid network controller 110 by the broadband Tx/Rx128 via the wired connection 108 b and/or the wireless connection 108 d.Additionally, the AP 114 may receive feedback from a UE 116 via the WiFilink 120 a that may also be communicated to the hybrid networkcontroller 110 by the wired and/or wireless broadband Tx/Rx 128.

The hybrid network controller, the AP 114 and/or the UE 116 that may beengaged in the call may determine that the UE 116 may need to handoff toanother AP 114 or femtocell 112. The broadband Tx/Rx 128 may receivehandoff management messages from the hybrid network controller 110and/or the UE 116. The processor 138 may utilize the received handoffmanagement messages to configure the WiFi Tx/Rx 126, the antenna 146and/or the DSP 142 for the handoff. Additionally, handoff managementmessages from the hybrid network controller 110 may be communicated tothe UE 116 via the WiFi Tx/Rx 126.

FIG. 1F is a block diagram of exemplary user equipment, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention. The UE 116 may comprise a cellularTx/Rx 174, a WiFi Tx/Rx 176, an antenna 172, a global navigationsatellite system (GNSS) receiver 168, a GNSS antenna 136, a processor178, a memory 180, and a DSP 182. The UE 116 may be similar or the sameas one or more of the UE 116 a, . . . , 116 g described with respect toFIGS. 1A and/or 1B. The GNSS receiver 168 and GNSS antenna 136 may besimilar or the same as the GNSS receiver 168 and GNSS antenna 136described with respect to FIG. 1D.

The antenna 172 may be suitable for transmitting and/or receivingcellular signals and/or broadband signals. Although a single antenna isillustrated, the invention is not so limited. In this regard, thecellular Tx/Rx 154 and/or wired and/or wireless broadband Tx/Rx 156 mayutilize a common antenna for transmission and reception, may utilizedifferent antennas for transmission and reception, and/or may utilize aplurality of antennas for transmission and/or reception. In variousembodiments of the invention, the antenna 172 may be operable to performbeamforming and/or may comprise a MIMO or virtual MIMO antenna systemfor example.

The UE 116 may be a multimode wireless device and may comprise aplurality of wireless transmitters and/or receivers (Tx/Rx). Thecellular Tx/Rx 174 may be similar to or the same as the cellular Tx/Rx154 described with respect to FIG. 1D. The cellular Tx/Rx 174 may enablecommunication between a UE 116 and one or more femtocells 112. Thecellular Tx/Rx 174 may be operable to communicate based on a wirelessvoice and/or data communication standard, for example, 3GPP, 3GPP2, LTEand/or WIMAX. Although the UE 116 shown in FIG. 1F comprises two Tx/Rxunits, for cellular and WiFi, the UE 116 is not limited in this regard.For example, the UE 116 may be a multi-mode device that may comprise aplurality of Tx/Rx units and may be operable to communicate based on aplurality of wireless voice and/or data communication standards forexample, 3GPP, 3GPP2, LTE, WIMAX, 802.11, Bluetooth and Zigbee.

The WiFi Tx/Rx 176 may be similar and/or the same as the WiFi Tx/Rxdescribed with respect to FIG. 1E. The WiFi Tx/Rx 176 may enablecommunication between a UE 116 and one or more APs 114.

The processor 178 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfacesand/or code that may enable processing data and/or controllingoperations of the UE 116. In this regard, the processor 178 may beenabled to provide control signals to the various other blocks withinthe UE 116. The processor 178 may also control data transfers betweenvarious portions of the UE 116. Additionally, the processor 178 mayenable execution of applications programs and/or code. The applications,programs, and/or code may enable processing data, call and/or sessionset-up and/or handoffs. In addition, the applications, programs, and/orcode may enable, for example, configuring or controlling operation ofthe cellular Tx/Rx 174, the antenna 172, the GNSS receiver 168, the WiFiTx/Rx 176, the DSP 182, and/or the memory 180.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the processor 178 maycontrol service measurements taken by the UE 116 comprising receivedsignal strength, interference levels and/or signal to noise ratio (SNR),SINR, CINR, signal path delay, bandwidth usage and/or radio resourceavailability. The service measurements may be utilized by the UE 116, afemtocell 112, an AP 114 and/or the hybrid network controller 110 tomake decisions regarding handoffs. The processor 178 may also receivetraffic management information from the hybrid network controller 110.In this regard, the processor 178 may be enabled to provide one or moresignals to the cellular Tx/Rx 174, the WiFi Tx/Rx 176, the memory 180,and/or the DSP 182 to control handoffs between and/or among thefemtocells 112 or the APs 114. In addition, the processor 178 maycontrol handoff configuration parameters that may comprise handoffneighbor list information, signal quality thresholds, frequency,transmission time, PN code, antenna radiation pattern, transmit powerlevel, modulation scheme, error coding scheme, and/or data rates oftransmitted cellular and/or WiFi signals. The processor 178 may beoperable to analyze current status, operating conditions, availableresources and/or control information from the hybrid network controller110, the femtocells 112 and/or the APs 114 to make handoff decisions. Invarious embodiments of the invention, the processor 178 may be operableto limit handoffs to femtocells 112 and/or APs 114 within thesub-network 118 even in instances when good signals from nearby entitiesexternal to the sub-network 118, for example, the cellular macrocellbase station 120 may be received by the UE 116.

The memory 180 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/orcode that may enable storage or programming of information that includesparameters and/or code that may effectuate the operation and/or handoffsof the UE 116. For example, the memory 180 may comprise neighbor listinformation and/or signal quality thresholds that may enable handoffs. Aportion of the programming information and/or parameters may be receivedfrom the hybrid network controller 110. Parameters may compriseconfiguration data and the code may comprise operational code such assoftware and/or firmware, but the information need not be limited inthis regard. Moreover, the parameters may comprise adaptive filterand/or block coefficients, frequency, transmission time, PN code.Additionally, the memory 180 may buffer or otherwise store received dataand/or data to be transmitted. The memory 180 may comprise one or morelook-up tables which may be utilized to determine which femtocells 112and/or APs 114 are within a range of the UEs 116 and may be handoffcandidates.

The DSP 182 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/orcode operable to perform computationally intensive processing of data.The DSP 182 may be operable to encode, decode, modulate, demodulate,encrypt, decrypt, scramble, descramble, and/or otherwise process data.The DSP 182 may be enabled to adjust a modulation scheme, error codingscheme, and/or data rates of transmitted cellular and/or WiFi signaldata.

In operation, the UE 116 may be operable to transmit and/or receivesignals to and/or from one or more of the femtocells 112 and/or the APs114 that may utilize a one or more wireless communication standards. Thecellular Tx/Rx 174 and/or WiFi Tx/Rx 176 may be operable to determinereceived signal characteristics comprising, for example, interferencelevels and/or signal strength. Similarly, the DSP 182 and/or theprocessor 156 may be operable to determine bit error rates of datareceived via one or more communication channels and/or may determineavailable bandwidth of the channel. Information, for example,measurements and/or status, from the Tx/Rx 174, the Tx/Rx 176, the GNSSreceiver 168, the memory 160, the processor 178 and/or the DSP 182 maybe communicated to the hybrid network controller 110, the femtocell 112and/or the AP 114. The information may be utilized by the hybrid networkcontroller 110, the femtocells 112, the APs 114 and/or the UE 116 formaking decisions regarding handoffs. For example, decisions may comprisewhich type of handoff to perform, which femtocell and/or AP to handoffto, when to handoff, initial transmit power and/or which frequency, timeslot and/or PN code to transmit and/or receive on.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating exemplary steps for handoff controlby a endpoint device in a hybrid sub-network comprising femtocellsand/or access points, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.Referring to FIG. 2, the exemplary steps may begin with start step 200.In step 202, a endpoint device 116 may receive traffic managementinformation from a hybrid network controller 110 to enable setup andcontrol handoffs between and/or among one or more femtocells 112 and/orone or more access points 114 in a sub-network 118. The endpoint device116 may establish a call and/or communication session between theendpoint device 116 within the sub-network 118 and another endpointdevice, a femtocell and/or an access point. The other endpoint deviceand/or network device may be external to the sub-network, for example,it may be a device within the wired and/or wireless communicationbackbone 102.

In step 204, feedback from the femtocells 112, the access points 114and/or the endpoint devices 116 within the sub-network 118 that maycomprise call quality indicators, for example, status and/or operationalcondition information may be monitored and/or analyzed by the endpointdevice 116. In step 206, the endpoint device 116 may determine when ahandoff between and/or among femtocells 112 and/or access points 114 maybe needed for the established call. In step 208, the endpoint device 116may determine an appropriate femtocell 112 and/or access point 114 toreceive the handoff based on the feedback information and/or resourceavailability. Available resources may be assigned and/or configured forthe handoff. In step 210, the endpoint device 116 may send controlinformation for execution of the handoff to the femtocell 112 and/oraccess point 114 that are handling the established call, the UE 116within the sub-network 118 and/or the femtocell 112 and/or access point114 that may have been determined to receive the handoff. The exemplarysteps may end with step 212.

In various embodiments of the invention, a communication system 118 maycomprise a hybrid network controller 110, one or more femtocells 112,one or more access points 114 and/or one or more endpoint devices 116.The endpoint device 116 may receive traffic management information fromthe hybrid network controller 110 for enabling handoff of acommunication session between and/or among one or more of the femtocells112 and/or one or more of the access points 114. In addition, theendpoint device 116 may communicate the determined handoff informationto femtocells 112, the access points 114 and/or the end-point devices116 for the enabling of the handoff. The received traffic managementinformation may comprise one or more of setup instructions, handoffinstructions, transmit power, neighbor list information, traffic loadbalancing, signal quality thresholds, bandwidth requirements, frequencyassignments, transmission time, code assignments and/or antenna patternassignments, for example.

In various embodiments of the invention, the endpoint device 116 maycontrol handoffs between and/or among a communication device external tothe communication system 118, for example, the laptop 124 b and one ormore of the femtocells 112 and/or the access points 114. Status and/oroperating conditions of one or more of the femtocells 112, the accesspoints 114 and/or the end-point devices 116 may be monitored and/oranalyzed by the endpoint device 116. In this regard, the status and/oroperating conditions may comprise received signal strength, interferencelevels, signal to noise ratio, signal path delay, power consumption,bandwidth usage and/or radio resource availability, for example. One ormore of the femtocells 112 and/or the access points 114 may be allocatedand/or assigned to receive the enabled handoff by the endpoint device116. In addition, one or more time slots, codes and/or antenna patternsfor the enabled handoff may be assigned and/or allocated by the endpointdevice 116 based on the received traffic management information. Theendpoint device 116 may receive traffic management informationwirelessly from the hybrid network controller 110 utilizing one or morewireless connections, for example, via the wireless connection 108.

Another embodiment of the invention may provide a machine and/orcomputer readable storage and/or medium, having stored thereon, amachine code and/or a computer program having at least one code sectionexecutable by a machine and/or a computer, thereby causing the machineand/or computer to perform the steps as described herein for enterpriselevel management in a multi-femtocell network.

Accordingly, the present invention may be realized in hardware or acombination of hardware and software. The present invention may berealized in a centralized fashion in at least one computer system, or ina distributed fashion where different elements are spread across severalinterconnected computer systems. Any kind of computer system or otherapparatus adapted for carrying out the methods described herein issuited. A typical combination of hardware and software may be ageneral-purpose computer system with a computer program that, when beingloaded and executed, controls the computer system such that it carriesout the methods described herein.

The present invention may also be embedded in a computer programproduct, which comprises all the features enabling the implementation ofthe methods described herein, and which when loaded in a computer systemis able to carry out these methods. Computer program in the presentcontext means any expression, in any language, code or notation, of aset of instructions intended to cause a system having an informationprocessing capability to perform a particular function either directlyor after either or both of the following: a) conversion to anotherlanguage, code or notation; b) reproduction in a different materialform.

While the present invention has been described with reference to certainembodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art thatvarious changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention. In addition, manymodifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material tothe teachings of the present invention without departing from its scope.Therefore, it is intended that the present invention not be limited tothe particular embodiment disclosed, but that the present invention willinclude all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.

1. A method for communication, the method comprising in a communicationsystem comprising a hybrid network controller and one or morefemtocells, one or more access points, and one or more endpoint devices:receiving by said one or more endpoint devices, traffic managementinformation for enabling handoff of a communication session betweenand/or among said one or more femtocells and/or said one or more accesspoints; and enabling said handoff of said communication session by saidone or more endpoint devices based on said received traffic managementinformation.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said receivedtraffic management information comprises one or more of set-upinstructions, handoff instructions, transmit power, neighbor listinformation, traffic load balancing, signal quality thresholds,bandwidth requirements, frequency assignments, transmission time, codeassignments and/or antenna pattern assignments.
 3. The method accordingto claim 1, comprising wirelessly receiving said traffic managementinformation from said hybrid network controller utilizing one or morewireless connections.
 4. The method according to claim 1, comprisingcontrolling by said one or more endpoint devices, handoffs betweenand/or among a communication device external to said communicationsystem and said one or more femtocells, said one or more access pointsand/or said one or more end-point devices.
 5. The method according toclaim 1, comprising monitoring and/or analyzing by said one or moreendpoint devices, status and/or operating conditions of said one or morefemtocells, said one or more access points and/or said one or moreend-point devices.
 6. The method according to claim 5, wherein saidstatus and/or operating conditions comprises one or more of receivedsignal strength, interference levels, signal to noise ratio, signal pathdelay, power consumption, bandwidth usage and/or radio resourceavailability.
 7. The method according to claim 1, comprising allocatingand/or assigning by said one or more endpoint devices, said one or morefemtocells and/or said one or more access points to handle said enabledhandoff.
 8. The method according to claim 1, comprising allocatingand/or assigning by said one or more endpoint devices, one or more timeslots for said enabled handoff, based on said received trafficmanagement information.
 9. The method according to claim 1, comprisingallocating and/or assigning by said one or more endpoint devices, one ormore codes for said enabled handoff, based on said received trafficmanagement information.
 10. The method according to claim 1, comprisingallocating and/or assigning by said one or more endpoint devices, one ormore antenna patterns for said enabled handoff, based on said receivedtraffic management information.
 11. A system for communication, thesystem comprising: in a communication system comprising one or morefemtocells, one or more access points, and one or more endpoint devices,one or more processors and/or circuits for use in said one or moreendpoint devices, said one or more processors and/or circuits beingoperable to: receive from said hybrid network controller, trafficmanagement information for enabling handoff of a communication sessionbetween and/or among said one or more femtocells and/or said one or moreaccess points; and enable said handoff of said communication sessionbased on said received traffic management information.
 12. The systemaccording to claim 11, wherein said received traffic managementinformation comprises one or more of set-up instructions, handoffinstructions, transmit power, neighbor list information, traffic loadbalancing, signal quality thresholds, bandwidth requirements, frequencyassignments, transmission time, code assignments and/or antenna patternassignments.
 13. The system according to claim 11, wherein said one ormore processors and/or circuits are operable to wirelessly receive saidtraffic management information from said hybrid network controllerutilizing one or more wireless connections.
 14. The system according toclaim 11, wherein said one or more processors and/or circuits areoperable to control handoffs between and/or among a communication deviceexternal to said communication system and said one or more femtocells,said one or more access points and/or said one or more end-pointdevices.
 15. The system according to claim 11, wherein said one or moreprocessors and/or circuits are operable to monitor and/or analyze statusand/or operating conditions of said one or more femtocells, said one ormore access points and/or said one or more endpoint devices.
 16. Thesystem according to claim 15, wherein said status and/or operatingconditions comprises one or more of received signal strength,interference levels, signal to noise ratio, signal path delay, powerconsumption, bandwidth usage and/or radio resource availability.
 17. Thesystem according to claim 11, wherein said one or more processors and/orcircuits are operable to allocate and/or assign said one or morefemtocells, said one or more access points and/or said one or moreendpoint devices to handle said enabled handoff.
 18. The systemaccording to claim 11, wherein said one or more processors and/orcircuits are operable to allocate and/or assign one or more time slotsfor said enabled handoff, based on said received traffic managementinformation
 19. The system according to claim 11, wherein said one ormore processors and/or circuits are operable to allocate and/or assignone or more codes for said enabled handoff, based on said receivedtraffic management information.
 20. The system according to claim 11,wherein said one or more processors and/or circuits are operable toallocate and/or assign one or more antenna patterns for said enabledhandoff, based on said received traffic management information.